A boat carrying around 500 starving people, mostly Rohingya refugees, was abandoned at sea for two months. Adrift without food and water, we believe that at least fifty people died on board and the survivors are severely malnourished, dehydrated and distressed.



The Bangladeshi coastguard rescued the survivors on 15 April 2020. MSF sent medical teams to assess peoples’ needs and provide emergency medical care and mental health support.



The survivors are mostly Rohingya people living in the Cox’s Bazar refugee camps, who attempted to flee to Malaysia to seek refuge and a future. Reports suggest that other boats are still at sea.